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Japanese Fruit Sandwiches Vegan Cream Cheese Version

The scrumplicious love child between fruit cake and sandwich - Japanese fruit sandos! I put my own little twist on these beloved classics and used plant-based dairy-free cream cheese instead of whipped cream - making these the laziest treat of our dreams ;)

You've probably seen the most internet-famous sibling of the Japanese fruit sando family - strawberry whipped cream sando! I mean of course it's everywhere because who wouldn't love it! The cross sections of the strawberries form a row of red little "hearts", which are set in white, fluffy, pillowy cream - perfection is in simplicity. But I do believe other fruits deserve their moment in these sweet sandos as well and my second favorite is kiwi and mandarin! The green and orange colors are so mood-lifting and their flavors pair perfectly as well.

Normally I'd grab a can of coconut cream and whip it up with a bit of sweetener for this purpose but as I'm currently traveling and staying with a friend, I find myself lacking the necessary equipment, ingredient, also the will to even make a simple whipped cream. No worries though, we can make this already simple recipe even simpler by using vegan cream cheese! And I actually ended up liking them even more because the slight sourness plus the sweet, juicy fruits were so refreshing.


And since these sandos are now even easier than the original version plus cream cheese is stabler than whipped cream in warm weather, they would be such a cute treat at a garden party, brunch, picnic, or do as a group activity with your friends and family!

Watch the video below to follow the easy steps to make these cuties and don't forget to follow me on Instagram and Tiktok where I share more of my vegan foodie adventures.


INGREDIENTS:

4 piece white bread

7 strawberry

1 kiwi

2 mandarin

1 tub vegan cream cheese of choice, I used tofu cream cheese

Parchment paper for wrapping


TO MAKE:

- Soften the cream cheese at room temperature for 10 minutes, this is to make it easier to spread;

- Wash and trim off the stem of the strawberries, spread a thick layer of cream cheese onto one piece of bread, then place three whole strawberries along a diagonal line;

- Place two more whole strawberries on the other two corners, and fill the gaps between with cream cheese, take some time here and fill every little nook and cranny;

- Place one half strawberry onto the center of each edge in between two whole strawberries, continue to fill the gaps with more cream cheese until they're all covered and relatively "flat" on top;

- Spread another layer of cream cheese on another piece of bread, place on top, cream cheese side down, and wrap the sandwich tightly in parchment paper, remember to mark on the wrapper which diagonal line you want to cut it later! Chill in the fridge for 15 minutes;

- Repeat the process with the kiwi and mandarin, first a layer of cream cheese on the bread, then place the kiwi in the center, and one half mandarin on each other of the bread;

- You can also use a whole mandarin on each corner, mine were too big so I halved them;

- Fill all the gaps with more cream cheese and place on top another piece of bread, wrap, mark the cut line, and chill in the fridge for 15 minutes;

- When they're done chilling, remove the parchment paper, (remember where you marked the line!) trim off the crusts and make all four edges straight and neat;

- Cut along the diagonal line you marked previously, serve immediately, enjoy!


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